Scarlett Johansson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt Celebrate Don Jon

There couldn’t have been a more apropos omen of the mass industry exodus to London than a good old-fashioned flash flood, and—as if on cue— New York City saw a deluge on Thursday night befitting the notoriously damp Britain. But as water lashed the tented red carpet at the School of Visual Arts Theatre for the premiere of Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s directorial debut, Don Jon, flashbulbs kept time with lightning strikes, and paparazzi stayed firmly planted in place. After all, when stars Scarlett Johansson,Julianne Moore, and newcomer Dakota Johnson (Fifty Shades of Grey’s just-tapped leading lady) are on the lineup, star wattage trumps any other meteorological event. “Scaaarlett!” shrieked photographers as the actress arrived wearing a mint green Roland Mouret with Gordon-Levitt, but she graciously deflected attention away from herself—and her recent engagement—and toward the man of the hour. “It was such a pleasure to be able to feel like I was really witnessing the birth of this new phase in Joseph’s career, and feel like I could be a part of that collaboration,” she smiled. “That was very exciting—and very inspiring.” One point for Johansson. Two points for Moore, in floor-grazing, jet-beaded Jason Wu, who looked every bit the classic screen siren. She, too, freely sung Gordon-Levitt’s praises. “He came to set incredibly prepared, which is a wonderful gift for an actor. He just really let us do our thing.”

For a film which centers around a man kicking a certain—shall we say—sensory addiction to the screen, “our thing” could be construed in myriad eyebrow-raising ways. The film’s tagline speaks for itself: “Everyone loves a happy ending.” “My idea of a perfect happy ending?” Gordon-Levitt mused. “It involves chocolate.” Three points for the man in Gucci. But the actor-cum-director was quick to point out that he didn’t take his taboo subject lightly. “I wanted to do something that got people talking, got people thinking,” he said. “I didn’t just want to make a timid and well-made film. I wanted to take a risk if I was going to do all this work.”

“Very brave,” Adrien Brody nodded from his corner perch at the Top of the Standard, martini in hand, croque monsieur and short rib polenta at arm’s length, at the film’s after-party. “I cried,” said actress Heather Matarazzo. “I hadn’t seen anything like it before. I’m so happy for Joseph.” Happy endings for everyone, it seems—that is, if you were to go by Ms. Moore’s definition. “A perfect happy ending? It’s whatever makes you happy,” she smiled. And indeed, London was calling and rain was falling, but no one seemed in any hurry to go home.